I've done the logo dance more than a few times as the lead marketer at a startup, suggested it to the CEO or done so myself for a business. A few things I don't see in this article which are reality when dealing with a massively large contract (say with one of the top 5 internet companies at the time).

* Preferential payment terms - a large co will say, "If you offer better pricing than you offer to us, you'll automatically reduce our rate to the new low rate offered." This ensures you can't price gouge them, but it also ensures that if you price correctly, telling other businesses that's your lowest rate will potentially make them more likely to close.

* Large customers that are household names instills a trust with a firm that helps them close deals with companies that are smaller in the B2B space in particular (5+ years in sales doing professional services, friends who run similar firms, etc).

* It's not only sociopaths (per the first comment above, lol) who can close deals with name brand firms. I fully agree it's probable some who raise money are sociopaths.

The phrase, "Manage your own psychology," has really stuck with me after I heard from Sam Altman in that Stanford class - knowing more than a few people who've been under a lot of stress in their role over my life has really helped me understand that we all crack in our own unique ways when the pressure cooker starts to heat up. (edit, spelling).